"Hmph, I can't beat her now, but in the future..." Emile muttered as we walked out of the academic building's entrance.

Near the fountain at the entrance, a group of students were conducting their own research on ghosts, while on the outskirts of the crowd, a student anxiously waited next to medical personnel, watching the snake-like monster they had summoned.

The tired serpent weakly twisted its body, spitting out its venom.

"..." I stopped in my tracks.

Come to think of it, there was something that I had intentionally or unintentionally ignored for a long time because it was too ordinary or easily forgettable.

"Emile, you go ahead. I have something to discuss with Headmistress Damia."

"Huh? What's up?"

"Regarding... a friend of mine."

------

Hurry, hurry, hurry...

It was a situation that didn't require such anxiety, but I acted as if one step later would cause a catastrophe.

Someone who had been with me in this world second only to Emile was waiting for my rescue.

As I reached the door that had just been closed behind me, I grabbed the doorknob and took a breath, about to open it...

"Well, welcome back. What brings you here?"

It was Damia's voice.

Could she have guessed that I would come back?

"Heh, Headmistress Damia is truly elegant and polite. If I'm here, you must have known what I would ask, right?"

Huh, someone...

It was a humble and gentle male voice...

But when Emile and I descended the stairs together, no one entered or exited the building, right?

The man spoke, "Why did you summon them to your academy? You don't have the next piece you need here, right?"

"Heh, you don't understand. We want a completely happy ending. We can't afford to lose any of us. A·ll. Hap·py."

Damia's voice sounded cunning and mocking.

"...Damia, do you think we have a lot of time left? It was only a year that you predicted, right? Starting from the moment she returned."

"It's because there's only a year that we have to do this..."

Damia's next words made my heart race.

"—Pathetic Bokuva, Fake Murinan."

I accidentally pushed open the door.

"Ah! Uh... I..."

I hurriedly got up from the ground, looked up, but there was no one in front of me.

Headmistress Damia was smiling at me—

"Do you want to ask about your pet Xiao Bai?"

As I looked around, nodding, there was no one.

The man who had appeared in so many moments before, calling himself Murinan, and then Bolt Kule Val.

The man who looked exactly like me in the past.

"Regarding the matter of Xiao Bai... it was injured by a city lord and is haunting your mind, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Emile told me that they would recover after a while, but until now, they're still unconscious. I can only faintly feel a spiritual connection with them."

"Ah, silly Emile once again revealed his limited knowledge... Xiao Bai and Xiao Bai were once Alpha beasts, that's correct. But Xiao Bai's soul core was something I created, so its recovery ability wouldn't compare to before. However, Xiao Bai and Xiao Bai are intertwined souls, so if something happens to Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai can't avoid it either. If you continue to ignore it like this, there won't be any danger, but it won't naturally wake up."

"Well then...!!"

In my anxiousness, I temporarily forgot about what happened earlier.

"I won't get any benefit from helping you save them, Molly Ann sweetheart."

"..."

"Let's make a bet. If you win, I'll tell you how to save them. If you lose... well, there won't be any punishment."

I swallowed my saliva, looked into her eyes, and nodded.

"Then... let's bet on the School of Balancing's magic competition that happens every three years. The last one was on invention and creation, and this time..."

"—Let's go with magical ping pong!"